Game of Cards
by LawsonTR01
Summary: A modern take on HBO's Game of Thrones; - When former President Robert Baratheon is assassinated, candidates flock to battle for presidency over the lands of Westeros.
1. EDDARD

A.N: Hey guys. This is a new piece I'm working on! It's a cross over between Game of Thrones and House of Cards, essentially exploring the dynamic of a modern day Westeros with a similar political system to those in the world today! Some things have been tweaked to fit this take on the story better, but please feel free to review with advice or your liking of the story thus far! Thanks guys! :)

* * *

**EDDARD**

A cold wind blew in Winterfell. Indeed, the winter was coming and perhaps at the most appropriate of times. For Eddard had never felt so cold within his heart. Word had reached him of Robert Baratheon's assassination at the hands of, susceptibly, 'The Hound'. Yet, with the troubles that came with such news, and the heavy heart he could no longer bare, his wife and his children had been sat before the television for hours; intrigued by the media coverage. Eddard, however, had retreated to his wife's wedding planner hall; the Winterfell Castle. Within he sat, slouched in a seat, head dropped in his hands as he tried desperately not to weep for the loss of a man that had been as good as his own flesh and blood; a man he had served as Vice President not four months ago - prior to his own resignation to seize the mayorship of Winterfell once more. Many had said the troubles had arisen after his resignation, but Eddard paid them no mind. He knew Robert was a stable and capable President. One that could run his course on his own, doing excellent things in the process for Westeros. Finally, after what seemed like hours; the sun had gone down outside. Though, that had not been the occurrence that had pulled Eddard from his slumbering state. A door creaked open, and shut with a gentle clack.

A moment or so passed, footsteps carrying down to the main room of the wedding hall until Catelyn, Eddard's beloved, came into view. Her eyes held no happiness as she had feigned when she had been around the children. Eddard had known she would be a different woman when he saw her again, after the younglings went to bed. This very moment had proved his thoughts true. He watched as she moved toward him, stopping only inches away. Her presence made him feel weak; as though he could fall into her embrace in a hopes that everything would be right again. So he did. He let his head press against her stomach, feeling her hands draw around his head; holding him. He whimpered for just a moment, losing the control he had promised himself that he would keep - until Catelyn broke the deathly silence between them.

"Don't cry, Ed. Not now. You must be strong." she spoke firmly, caressing the back of his head.

He knew what she said to be true, for he knew that Robb, his eldest son, would need him. He had served under Robert long after Ed had; a prime supporter and member of the Robert Baratheon support body. He had drafted bills, aided the President in crucial decision making and become a loyal confidante.  
"I know you to be right, Cat. I know what you're saying is true - but I miss him already. Even now when word has only just reached us. What am I to do? Pretend that I am fine? Pretend that losing man, a man as good as my own brother to have done me no hinderance?" Eddard spoke though his broken breaths.

He felt Cat's body stiffen with his words. She had never liked how close Ed and Robert had been; for they were too closely knit for either to be their own man. One was not truly complete without the other. In truth, Ed had known that his wife had felt as though she had married two men rather than one. "Let yourself free of your sorrows here, now. Come back home the man our children know. Strong, impenetrable. Be a man of strength for them; the pillar they need. The pillar Robb will need." She pulled a gentle hand through his hair and followed her hand down his cheek thereafter; taking him at the chin and craning his head away from her so that he looked upon her face.

"Kiss me, Ed. Kiss me and let go of your pain. Remind yourself of some of the good you still have left in this world." Eddard did not hesitate.  
He embraced his wife with passion. Tender, loving kisses donned her lips from his own and he put all the sorrow he had into them. His love for Cat was unsurpassed, and it had always been the thing that had reminded him that not all was dark in this world. Even when times like these shadowed over the feint light that shone over Winterfell.

* * *

Morning had began with pipes being played on the hilltops of Winterfell. Robb and Ed stood in silent reverence, listening to the song that called across the landscape before them in memory of the fallen Baratheon.  
Arya and Sansa stood off in the distance, watching; Eddard could see them, even from such a distance shedding tears for the loss of a man that they considered as good as their uncle.  
Finally, the song concluded and Eddard took his eyes to his son. He could see Robb in deep thought; stone faced, completely absent of emotion - but concentrated.

"Robb?" he chimed. "What is it that has you so distant?"  
"Who." he replied.  
"Who?" Eddard raised a brow. "Who killed him. I want to know who killed him. Not what the media speculate. The truth" Robb broke finally, tears swelling at his eyes.  
Eddard frowned; he could see now it was not the loss of Robert which hurt, but the fact that Robb could not extract revenge for the act. The sorrow for loss had ran cold and turned to anger already, and now, Robb lusted for blood.  
"Killing another man will not bring him back, nor will it quench your sorrow." Eddard promised, "Believe me, I know." He noted Robb's nod, but he hardly believed the understanding of his own words.  
"Promise me you will do nothing rash." Ed spoke. Robb stood silent for a moment, and it was enough to tell Eddard what was to come next would be none but empty words and promises.

And yet, Robb spoke the best he could.

"I won't. I promise."

Though before Ed could reply, a black Chevrolet appeared from over the hilltop. Out of it spawned his brother, Benjen. Dark hair draped his features and his black eyes beaconed Eddard toward him. He had been the Police Chief of Winterfell for years now, and it was clear he had concern for the action Ed was to take over this assassination on his closest friend. And so Eddard graced his brother with his presence.

"Ned." Benjen greeted.  
"Ben." Ed replied.  
"We have to talk. Can you get your children and Cat together. I think it would be best if it were all of us in this meeting. It will save the conveying of messages." Benjen spoke honestly, eyes looking upon Robb a little while away.  
"I will. Come back to the house. Cat will make you something to eat and we can discuss it all over a meal. The rain is coming, the snow too if I'm not mistaken. Indeed, Winter is Coming." Eddard craned his head to the skies.

The drive to the home was solemn and quiet. Cat stood, waiting at the door. Arya and Sansa bounded out of the car and raced for the best place at the table within; Sansa shoving her younger sister aside with a snide grin.  
"You're such a brat." Arya snorted.  
"Look who's talking." Sansa cocked her brow coolly. "Sore losers never get any respect."  
"Either did self-centred snobs." Arya grinned, pulling herself into another seat.

Benjen simply laughed as he entered, Eddard watching over his daughters with an embarrassed look, while Cat tended to setting food upon the table as everyone took their seats.

"Baccon, Benjen?" Cat asked as she made her way about the table, distributing the servings to the rest of her family.

Ben shook his head, "Just an egg will do me fine, Cat. They're expecting me back at the station fairly soon. I just needed to talk to you all before…" he looked at Robb and didn't finish his sentence. He let a deep sigh escape his lips before finally, he broke away.  
"I don't want anyone to buy into these rumours that the Hound was responsible for Robert's murder. I know it's easier to believe that he took part in this and someone's responsible for what happened to the President, but there's no proof. It's just media speculation. I just don't want any of you getting into trouble with the law because you're endeavouring to extract your own brand of justice."

Robb snorted, chewing away at a piece of bacon before finally, he cast a glance at Ben.  
"Don't worry, uncle. You've got nothing to worry about."

Ed looked between the two of them, uncertainty pressed across his features as he observed the looks the two shared.  
There was a brief silence as they both analysed one another, and then, Ben broke the tension.

"I know you Robb. I know what you are capable of. I know you want to make this right Robert was your friend, just as he was your father's. Just don't put me in a place where I have to arrest my own family." he pleaded. "I'll investigate this personally. I'll get to the bottom of it. I promise."

Ed piped in before Robb could respond. "We believe you, Ben. You have our word. Robb will not act."

Silence again.

The wind blew outside and flowed through the brief cracks in the windows but no other sound was audible.  
Cat stood with concern over her ageing face.  
Rickon and Bran sat, deadly silent.  
Arya sat, not completely aware of what was occurring before her, and Sansa played with a strand of hair, nervously looking between her uncle and her eldest brother.

Standing from his seat, finishing his egg, Ben gave them all a warm smile; quite contrasting of the mood which had been set.

"By the way, Jon say's hello."

Ed cringed at the mention of the name of his bastard son. A son whom he conceived not with Cat, but another woman. He knew how much Cat despised of his bastard. And thus, Ed had asked Benjen top take him in and raise him as his own. And while Cat stayed silent, and Ed the same - the other children burst to life. How they loved their half brother and missed seeing him dearly.

"Jon!" Bran and Rickon chirped in sync. "Say hello to him too!"

"Tell him to visit soon!" Arya grinned. "He promised he would take me hunting for wild pig!"

Sansa simply rolled her eyes. "Tell brother we do all miss him, truly."

Benjen smiled at the responses. "He'll be glad to know you haven't forgotten him." that much was true. He loved them all, even Cat, when she despised of him so much.


	2. JAIME

**JAIME**

Jaime had been Robert's head of security since the beginning. His wife's brother and the finest man serving in his field. A man of skill, discipline and mercilessness. Something that Robert knew that he could use to his advantage, that Jaime knew. And yet, even with him, Robert had fallen and there was not one thing that Jaime, even if he wanted to, could have done to prevent the fate. Not that he intimately cared too much. He was in love with the woman Robert loved. His sister. By every standard it was wrong, but to him, it felt so right. As if she were his only fit. As if no other could ever make him feel the way that she did; especially when he was inside of her. And Robert had always posed as nothing more than a hinderance. His spite for the man showed in Robert's last hours. He could still hear his final words to the man;  
'Your wife, my sister - never was she thinking of you when you lay with one another. Know that her brother provided all satisfaction she received. Even the child which you call your son.'

He remember the anger in Robert's eyes as he desperately tried to lurch forward and grasp the man whom had been his personal security for so long; his last ounce of energy draining away from him with the desperate attack. And Jaime had simply smiled as he wasted into the afterlife. Thankful. Pleased.

He needn't worry any longer about the potential of Robert one day winning his sister from him. For now, it were only he and her. The two of them finding comfort in one another in these times. Cersei, slightly broken as a result of the loss of her hardly beloved husband, and Jaime, extracting his satisfaction in no longer feeling threatened of losing his love; his flesh and blood.

Though to the onlooker, Jaime appeared shattered and hindered by the President's death. He played his part well; acting his way through the media and through the onslaught of questions which plagued him from those on the outer media track.  
'I am disheartened and regretful for Robert's fate. If only I could have shared more with him then words. If only I had been there before he were attacked.'

False words, yet, believable words. None ever questioned the loyalty he had to Robert; not even Cersei.

Sitting before the gathered at the funeral, Jaime held his sisters hand in his own, kissing her gently on the cheek as a means of comfort before he whispered to her softly.

"I am so sorry sister… But you must be strong here. The media can not see you breaking." he allowed a moment for him to look at the reporters before his took his gaze to the casket before them. Petyr Baelish sat to their rear, leaning inward between Jaime and Cersei before he uttered careful words.

"A new era is upon us, my friends. While tragic as it is, Robert's death had brought opportunity. It is the moment to seize power for yourself over Westeros, my beloved First Lady. Take the Presidency as your own and carry on Robert's message and cause. You will make a fine figurehead. Better than any we've had before." word play; Baelish had always been a skilled wordsmith. Jaime paid him no mind while Cersei had clearly been taking note of Petyr's words.

"How can you defame him so soon, Petyr? You served him as the treasurer of his government and yet, here you sit, cursing out at his name." Cersei cracked back like a whip.

"I mean no offence, my lady. I simply wish the best for Westeros. You can not argue that Robert had lost their interests before the end?" He defended, still cool and collected; still calm as ever - despite Cersei's rasp.

His words had echoed true, shown only by the silence that he received from the First Lady, before finally, Jaime craned his head.

"You are most lucky that my sister still sees a use in you, Senator Baelish." it was a remark that held an underlying threat and Petyr would have undoubtedly detected it - though, he simply smiled back a cocky grin.

"My condolences." he concluded, returning back to his seat.

The ceremony had been silent from there on, bar those of the speakers at the alter. The Starks sat on the opposite side to the Lannister's, heads bowed while, Renly Baratheon, his new wife, Margaery and her brother, Loras stood at the back corner with their heads bowed in memorial. Renly had lost his brother, and yet, even to Jaime, he appeared unfeigned. More so than many. However, the one whom stood the most from the pack had been Stannis Baratheon; Robert's other brother. A brother that he had never had much affection for. Jaime studied him carefully as he stood side by side with his loyal security, Davos Seaworth; a once renowned creator of vessels of the sea until many were found to be faulted.

There was almost an essence of pleasure that lingered at Stannis's feature; mirroring that of Jaime's when he had been only in his own company. Thus, there was a distinctness about what had to come. Stannis had always been eager to take his brothers position as President. He had a love for power and doing the will of the people; being a firm hand. He, however, would have made a much finer President than Robert ever had. Robert had never truly been crafted for his post; simply an individual praised by the people. A man whom could do little wrong.

So, when the time had come for Stannis to follow Renly's speech at the alter, Jaime paid him complete attention; to see if he would lie through his teeth like a politician, or speak solemn truth of what he had thought of his brother.

A silence took the room as the man prepared himself to speak.

He curled his fingers around the podium and leaned inwards, his eyes looking over his brothers casket for a brief moment as he began to speak.

"They say the God's do what must be done. They relinquish the terrines, they uphold justice - they protect us, they guide us. If we then, honour the God's, we must see that perhaps Robert has been taken from us for a reason. A reason that we may yet to discover. But God's be knowing, I will not let his message go forgotten. If what Robert was doing had been wrong from the beginning, his end would have come long before it has. And thus, from this moment, I pledge myself to Robert's original stance. His promises from the beginning…."

It was clear already that Stannis had seized this moment from a political point. Hammering himself firmly into the upcoming run for Presidency in this unforeseen series of events.

There had been vague hints at such from Renly as well in his speech, but none as clear and deliberate as Stannis.

By the end of it all, it would not be Robert spoken of in the headlines, but the claimants whom made their purpose known. Stannis, Renly, and the whispers that had come after the ceremony of Danny Targareyn whom had now come of age to run for Presidency. Her father had been the Westeros's most spoken of leader since the dawn of time. Cruel, blood-thirsty and power hungry. A man whom had singlehandedly destroyed the Targareyn name. So it had seemed however, Danny had found herself on a quest to lead and redeem her families name. To right the wrongs and cure the plague which followed her.

Word of mouth and nothing more no less, but Jaime had always had a fond respect for the one whom spoke of it. A man whom had stayed at the funeral for no longer than a few minutes in its entirety. Tyrion Lannister; his brother. A dwarf, from the day of his birth, he had never been destined for much in the eyes of the Lannister clan - but Jaime and he seemed to share a commonness with one another. He had come with his personal bodyguard; hired only after Robert's murder. A tall, slender man with oily black hair but a fine suit. A man whom he introduced himself as Bronn.

"If what you speak is true brother, life is about to get much more interesting." Jamie remarked.

"Indeed it is brother, and I feel that you will most certainly find a need for your skills. Perhaps you could use my friend here?" Tyrion signalled to Bronn. "He is an excellent bodyguard, and better yet, is loyal only to coin. He would make certain of our dear sisters safety if you find yourself overly burdened."

"Please brother, don't disrespect me in front of lower class folk. It really annoys me." Jaime chortled.

"Lower class or not, pretty boy, I'll gut ya' from neck to cock if ya' insult me like that again." Bronn piped up, Tyrion laughing loudly and giving his bodyguard a gentle open hand pat at the side.

Jaime had already taken his hand to his sidearm, his eyes centred on Bronn's whom had not faltered or flinched at the idea of Jaime drawing on him. The nerve on him had been remarkable, something Jaime gave him some respect for; but his mouth had been far out of check ever since Tyrion had come, up until the point that he and the lower class man had left.

Down went the casket and away went all the guests and attendants until finally, around the grave stood only Joffrey, Cersei's child - fathered by Jaime, despite it being the largest secret between he and her - Cersei herself, and Jaime. The boy sobbed, while Cersei held him and the rain gushed down upon them. Finally however, from the distance, footsteps could be heard. A golden haired woman came, by one side, an older man with a beard and tattered hair. To the other side, a monstrously tall man with tattoos on his arms and neck - no doubt also down his torso. His much darker skin contrasted the woman's pure white. He spawned a grimace by nature, posing as his natural expression and his eyes were dark as night as he looked upon Jaime and his love. They did not move too close, simply looking from afar. Though they were close enough for them to now be recognised; Danny and her company. They had travelled into the centre of Westeros and were ready to start their run for Presidency. All the players were now in place. It would only be a matter of time before the bloodbath begun.


End file.
